Yesterday I was recognized as one of the top10 garden Twitter users.  I love making new contacts on social media networking sites so this was a real treat to be ‘RT’ ( retweeted). To show my excitement for being noticed on this fun site I decided to do a Top 10 of my own.

Sunflowers

Each year I am sure to add at least 2 new sunflower varieties to grow in with my veggies. Sunflowers are wonderful to cut and share with friends or to dress up the inside of our home in a vase. These grow in various colors and sizes with little or no care needed.

Hibiscus syriacus/ Rose of Sharon Shrub.
I have had two homes to add gardens to in my life time and on the top of my must have list in the landscaping is the Rose of Sharon shrub. This flowering shrub adds color to any Midwest Home & Garden and also fills me with wonderful childhood memories. Growing up I can still remember photos out by the front porch near the Rose of Sharon shrub.

Coleus

I’m a big fan of all types of coleus. These are annuals in my Midwest garden but are enjoyed in containers and in the landscaping. Over the winter months I tried to winter a few over in my new greenhouse but the night we lost heat I also lost my favorite coleus. Luckily, I have been able to find these locally at my favorite Proven Winner Garden Centers.

Twist and Shout : Hydrangea macrophylla
I love having flowering shrubs in my garden landcaping. One of my favorite varieties is from the collection of Hydrangea I own. One of my favorites each year is the Twist and Shout. This Hydrangea puts on a blooming show all summer and her flowers are very unique.

Sometimes not a gardeners friend……
All bunnies are welcome in the BGgarden as long as they are invited! We have a small rabbitry in our garden and we love the bunny fertilizer they provide our garden with. Not to mention they are soft and cuddly! Who can resists?!

Garden Felines

A garden is not complete with out a kitten ( or two). We live out in the country so a cat was a ‘must’ because I am not a big fan of the mice that like to live in the fields that surround our home. I can honestly say, we have not see one mouse ( living) on our property. A cat is always a wonderful addition to help keep company while enjoying the beautiful gardens. What a wonderful feeling to provide a home for cats that needed rescued. The really cool thing about our cats is they seem to acknowledge they love we have provided for them.

Vegetables

For the past 7 year since we moved to the country I have had a detailed plan listing all the veggies we will grow for the family to enjoy. I am a fan of home canning processing and most of my veggie picks are those we can store over the winter. There is no doubt you will find all the makings for salsa and home stews in my garden. Some of my favorites each year are the roma tomatoes, hot peppers and cucumbers that grow on home made trellis’.

Ornamental grass adds to the landscaping year round in the BGgarden.

I am a huge fan of ornamental grasses. These add color and texture to the garden year round. Over the years I have also been keeping an eye out for new grasses that can be added to container plantings.

Rocking it out in the Garden

When we bought our home in the country one of the selling points for us was the rock front porch. Since then I have added various patios and walk ways with rock themes. I think all gardens should have some type of rock if for nothing but to add texture to a soft garden.

Berry Share

Last year was the first year I harvested enough raspberries to make a few jars of jam to enjoy during the winter months. In our garden we have many fruit trees including peach, apple, pluot, pears, cherries and quince. Recently, I ordered some strawberries online and am looking forward to a crop of strawberries this summer. My favorite fruit is from the berry bushes we brought from our first home. These raspberries were easy to move and love to spread out so give them lots of room for many berries.

I know that is 10 … but is there room for just one more must have in the Midwest garden?

Perennials and Annuals that welcome the Butterflies
How could we not add blooms like Lantana, sedum and Joe Pye Weed that the attract birds and butterflies!

Thank you Top 10 for noticing what I have growing and sharing in my Midwest Garden!

I started this new share last week and had so many wonderful comments that I thought I would continue the trend.  This weeks spring photo of the week is going to be from the Magnolia tree that has taken full bloom and now begins to fall in such a short time.  This life cycle is not uncommon in my garden zone 5b.  We are usually pleased just to get a day of fabulous blooms from this tree.

The battle with the wind and the cold paid off.  After a few hours of taking photos I finally got one that I am happy with and I am going to share it with you ( image above).

(Click on the Image to read more about my adventure in Magnolia Photography)

I lied above…. this maybe my favorite shot of the Magnolia.   Some how I feel there are going to be more photos of this beauty in upcoming blog entries even though she is starting to fall.

Happy Spring Everyone – Bren ♥

6 week old Netherland Dwarf Himi’s are ready to play.

It has been super fun raising these Himi Netherland. They seem to much calmer then the other kits we have had in the rabbitry.  What luck to have these cute little white ones at Easter time.  Perfect little bunnies for Easter photo fun!

It was super easy to capture these little bunnies.  I don’t think I got one blurred shot because they were so very tame for the photo shoot.

This is one of my favorite captures before we tired them all out for the night.

Good Night Little Bunnies!

I hope you have a wonderful Easter with your Family and Friends. – Bren ♥

We have quickly been thrown into Summer in our neck of the woods with temperatures that feel more like early summer.  The blooms are taking a beating with the full sun and sudden heat.  I am enjoying the time I have with the new spring blooms.  Everything looks so different through my new lens this year.  This is the first spring I can look closer into the early blooms with my Nikon D90 I became an owner of last May.

Be sure to stop and enjoy the spring blooms because they could be gone tomorrow – Bren ♥

This image was what I used as the Ad on the side bar.  This was the first week I featured this topic.  I look forward to sharing more ‘Picture of the Week’on my blog from my Garden in the Midwest.

Away from my neck of the woods for a visit to a very GREEN place.  Did you know you can see Ireland GREEN from the space station so I was told today by a new friend over ‘across the pond’?!

Wonderful People, VERY GREEN and so very much to share with you all as time allows.

*This was a post from my first blog in 2009  /  More from my Irish Shares click HERE.